— New facility features a Neve Genesys console, Ocean Way monitors and more —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 11, 2012 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, announces that it has opened a new custom recording/listening demo facility at the Hollywood Guitar Center location on Sunset Boulevard, which also houses GC Pro’s home offices. Open to the public, GC Pro affiliate partners and manufacturers alike, the facility is equipped with some of the most sought-after gear from GC Pro’s extensive inventory, including a Neve Genesys console and custom Ocean Way monitors tuned by creator Allen Sides himself – both products distributed in the U.S. exclusively by GC Pro. Additionally, the facility features studio monitors from companies like Genelec, ADAM, Focal and others – all high-end monitoring options – along with custom-designed photo-embedded acoustic treatment from Auralex (who also worked with GC Pro to tune the room), and racks and racks of outboard gear both vintage and new. The sound quality in the room is superb, and the gear provides the full range of options for today’s producer, engineer, artist or musician. This state-of-the-art recording/listening studio also features a signature look different from any other facility in the GC Pro organization.

“This new facility opens up a number of opportunities for GC Pro, for both demonstrating music and recording it,” stated GC Pro Vice President Rick Plushner. “The Hollywood location also houses our custom-built live sound stage, which is used to tape our acclaimed GC Sessions video series, and with the addition of the recording room, a fully-integrated facility is emerging – bridging the worlds of live sound, recording and AV production. The patch bays have been fully customized, designed by the Malvicino Design Group (one of our GC Pro Affiliates), and we can now fully track GC Sessions performances and other events, with the full arsenal of modern studio wizardry at our fingertips, including editing, effects and overdubs. We are raising the bar for what we can accomplish production-wise, and we will be passing that content onto the audio community at large.”

Other different kinds of programs based on the room are in the works, to further expand GC Pro’s reach and offer enrichment sessions/classes for the audio community. Manufacturer/vendors will be invited to participate in demonstrations, providing expert perspective – presentations that will be taped and posted on GC Pro’s website.

Allen Sides, GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, producer and mixer who founded Ocean Way Recording, stated, “It’s great to have a room where you can actually hear what gear sounds like. We were excited to be involved with the acoustics and design of this great space, and to also provide a set of our new Ocean Way AS1 monitors. Critical listening is the only way to judge what gear sounds like, and in most retail environments you haven’t a clue until you get it home. This is a wonderful addition to GC Pro Hollywood.”

David Fischer, CEO of Auralex, added, “We are thrilled to have been chosen as the acoustical treatment of choice for GC Pro’s new high-tech facility. This state-of-the-art facility is an exciting development for GC Pro, and our involvement continues to strengthen the long-term relationship between Auralex and GC Pro.”

Horacio Malvicino of the Malvicino Design Group noted, “Installation of the new audio demo room at GC Pro was handled with the same approach we take with a regular studio installation. The console is fully wired to a total of four Audio Accessories TT 96 point patch bays, which allow access to all of the console features. We also added a sixteen-tie line panel in the control room to allow for quick interface of external gear, as well as a sixteen-input mic panel with Ethercon ports to interface a multi fold-back system.”